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Saturday, October 31, 2026Oct 31

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Developing: Storms thrash the South, leaving death and destruction behind

photo Debris lies on the ground after part of the roof of a home was destroyed during a storm in Livingston Parish, La., Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016. Severe weather spawned possible twisters and high winds in parts of the Deep South, authorities said. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP) MAGS OUT; INTERNET OUT; NO SALES; TV OUT; NO FORNS; LOUISIANA BUSINESS INC. OUT (INCLUDING GREATER BATON ROUGE BUSINESS REPORT, 225, 10/12, INREGISTER, LBI CUSTOM); MANDATORY CREDIT
photo Members of the Kenner Fire Department knocks down bricks from the wall of the New Mount Bethel Baptist Church which suffered suffered weather damage in Kenner, La., Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016. A massive storm system caused damage throughout the region.

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5:15 p.m.

Granville County Sheriff Brindell Wilkins says one home has been destroyed by severe weather in his county.

Wilkins says three other houses were damaged in the Oxford area. He hadn’t received any reports of injuries but said emergency personnel are still assessing the storm’s effects.

The sheriff said it’s not clear if the damage came from straight line winds or a tornado. He described rain blowing sideways, wind bending trees and hail coming down while the storm swept through.

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3:45 p.m.

Electric companies say that power outages have climbed above 115,000 in the Carolinas while storms rumble through.

Duke Energy says more than 72,000 customers are without power in North Carolina, while there are nearly 28,000 in South Carolina. South Carolina Electric & Gas reports that another 15,000 of its customers are without power in the state.

A new series of tornado warnings has been issued as a band of severe weather approaches the Research Triangle area of North Carolina.

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12:30 p.m.

Electric companies are reporting more than 40,000 outages in the Carolinas as severe weather moves in.

Duke Energy said Wednesday afternoon that nearly 21,000 North Carolina customers were without power, while there were 17,000 in South Carolina. South Carolina Electric & Gas was reporting another 4,200, mostly in the Charleston area.

Several tornado warnings were issued in North Carolina, though most had expired by early afternoon.

Tornado watches were issued through the evening for much of both states.

A number of school districts in North Carolina let out early because of the severe weather.

East Carolina University cancelled afternoon classes. Fayetteville State University issued an emergency weather alert advising students to take shelter, but later declared an “all-clear.”

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10:00 a.m.

Duke Energy is reporting thousands of outages across the Carolinas as the two states brace for the arrival of severe weather.

The power company says there are more than 12,000 outages in North Carolina and more than 2,000 in South Carolina Wednesday morning.

North Carolina’s Macon and Mecklenburg counties each have more than 3,000 customers without power.

To the east, school systems including Cumberland and Durham counties are letting out early because of the weather threat.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory is urging residents to stay alert. He says he’s asked emergency personnel to be ready in case of severe weather.

South Carolina Electric & Gas reports fewer than 300 outages.

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8:05 a.m.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott is expected to travel to Pensacola to view the damage caused by stormsthat hit the area.

Scott’s office says the governor will be in the Pensacola area Wednesday afternoon.

A possible tornado ripped through the city Tuesday evening, snapping trees, downing power lines and destroying at least 24 units at The Moorings apartment complex.

The National Weather Service was surveying the damage Wednesday to determine if it was caused by a tornado.

There have been no reports of injuries there.

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8 a.m.

High winds, high surf and flooding are all possible in North Carolina as a storm system approaches.

That doesn’t count the snow that’s expected in the mountains starting Wednesday night.

The National Weather Service has issued advisories and warnings about high winds across most of the state Wednesday as the storm that has killed at least three people in Louisiana and Mississippi moves into the region.

Winds are expected to range from 20 mph to 35 mph with gusts of up to 70 mph in the western mountains.

The winds will kick up the surf on beaches south of Cape Hatteras.

Flooding is also a possibility from the rains.

Up to 4 inches of snow is expected in some parts of the mountains from late Wednesday and to early Friday.

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7:40 a.m.

Meteorologists at the national Storm Prediction Center are warning of the potential for more tornadoes – including some possibly strong twisters – in parts of the Atlantic coast, including the Carolinas and Virginia.

In a Wednesday morning briefing, forecaster Jaret Rogers said large hail and a few tornadoes are expected to develop over the region later Wednesday and Wednesday night. He said the stormsmay include some strong tornadoes.

Rogers said some of the larger metro areas at risk of severe weather include the North Carolina cities of Raleigh and Wake Forest.

The storms expected Wednesday are part of the same system that spawned tornadoes in Gulf Coast states Tuesday and killed at least three people in Louisiana and Mississippi.

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7:15 a.m.

A storm system that’s killed at least three people in Louisiana and Mississippi is expected to bring severe weather to South Carolina.

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for Allendale County until 10 a.m. Wednesday.

A wind advisory is in effect from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. in seven counties in the southeastern part of the state.

The advisory is in effect in Allendale, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Hampton and Jasper counties.

A similar advisory is in effect in eight counties in the northeastern part of the state until 8 p.m. That advisory affects Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry Marion, Marlboro and Williamsburg counties.

Forecasters say winds could reach 35 mph with gusts up to 50 mph.

Schools are closed in Georgetown and Horry counties.

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6:55 a.m.

A sheriff says an all-night search in the rear of a Louisiana RV park where a tornado hit found no additional injuries or fatalities.

St. James Parish Sheriff Willie Martin says three people are still missing and he hopes to locate them Wednesday.

He said 30 people were injured and seven are in critical condition.

Martin said in an interview on WVUE-TV that heavy equipment will be brought to the RV park to clear the road and move the damaged RVs.

When asked what was going on when he arrived at the scene he said: “It was chaos for the first hour.”

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6:20 a.m.

A possible tornado ripped through Pensacola, Florida, on Tuesday evening, destroying an apartment complex and downing trees and power lines.

National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Esbensen in Mobile, Alabama, told The Associated Press a team will survey the damage beginning at sunrise Wednesday to determine whether thestorm was a tornado.

The Pensacola News Journal (http://on.pnj.com/1XMegZY) reports 24 units at The Moorings apartment complex were destroyed. No major injuries were reported.

Residents were being bused to a nearby shelter operated by the American Red Cross.

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6 a.m.

Red Cross volunteers are in the storm damaged areas of Louisiana and will be coordinating with local leaders.

According to a news release, Red Cross teams worked through the night at shelters in St. James and St. John the Baptist parishes and provided drinks and meals to first responders in Convent at an RV Park.

The Red Cross warns those returning to their damaged homes to watch out for fallen power lines and broken gas lines.

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5:50 a.m.

The sound of chain saws will be heard all over southeast Louisiana on Wednesday as residents begin the cleanup from a system of deadly storms that killed two in St. James Parish.

Authorities worked through the night searching an RV park for at least two people still missing. Two died at the park Tuesday and RVs were overturned and stacked on top of one another.

In St. John the Baptist Parish, dozens of homes were damaged on the west side of LaPlace. No one was injured.

Entergy reports more than 14,000 outages west of the New Orleans metro area. Over 9,000 are without power in St. John Parish, with 1,700 customers in the dark in Assumption Parish and Tangipahoa Parish has over 1,200 outages.

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3 a.m.

A deadly storm system that spawned tornadoes in Gulf Coast states Tuesday night is expected to bring severe weather to the Carolinas by Wednesday afternoon.

Authorities say the Tuesday storms mangled trailers at an RV park, ripped roofs from buildings and killed at least three people in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Police say two people were killed at a recreational vehicle park in the Louisiana town of Convent. St. James Parish Sheriff Willy Martin says authorities were working into the early morning to look for people possibly trapped under the debris there.

The Wednesday forecast for the Carolinas calls for possible flash flooding and severe thunderstorms, including damaging winds, hail and isolated tornadoes.